Welcome to My Nightmare
by rid.me.of.this.ennui
Summary: Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it. I think your gonna feel like you belong.


**_A/N: Lyrics are from 'Welcome to My Nightmare' by Alice Cooper. And that is where I took the title from as well. _**

* * *

She knocked lightly on his door.

It was her first day of her new duty—assistant to the potion's master.

Her hands were steady and dry, her lip didn't tremble. She was calm and collected and she seemed to radiate confidence.

She was scared shitless.

_

* * *

Welcome to my nightmare_

* * *

It took all of the courage she had built up over the last 18 (19 if you count the TimeTurner) years of her life to open the door when he acknowledged her. And there was a lot to gather. But it didn't do her much good.

_

* * *

I think you're gonna like it,  
I think you're gonna feel  
Like you belong,_

* * *

He was ready for her.

He knew what she thought of him, and he knew that she feared him. Or the man he had become.

Yes, she understood that he had done what he had had to do. He was under orders. They all were. But that didn't change the fact that he had killed the man she had come to think of as a senile old grandfather.

She hated him for it. She feared what he would do to her.

She was a logical girl. That was not a matter of opinion, simply a fact. And he knew that she had forgiven him for all his past sins. She didn't fear him for all that he had done as a Death Eater; she feared him because of his strength.

His strength of loyalty to Dumbledore, his strength of mind to realize he had to kill the man who was like a father to him. She feared the strength he possessed to live with his faults and mistakes. To live past them.

Others respected him for it. Congratulated him for it. Appreciated him for it.

But she was a being to herself, and never one to let other's opinions guide her own.

_

* * *

A nocturnal vacation,  
Unnecessary sedation,  
You want to feel at home  
Cause you belong,_

* * *

But she would work well with him. He was certain.

_

* * *

Welcome to my nightmare.  
Welcome to my breakdown.  
I hope I didn't scare you._

* * *

She stepped bravely into his office, her ebony black robes blowing in the draft from the open door, exposing the muggle cargo-pants in hunter green and a black long sleeved shirt she wore underneath.

Yes, he scared her, but he was also the only Potion's Master who would be able to teach her more than she already knew.

The others were afraid of **her**.

_

* * *

That's just the way we are  
When we come down.  
We sweat, laugh and scream here,  
Cuz life is just a dream here.  
You know inside you  
Feel right at home, here_

* * *

She would fit in with him perfectly.

They both had scars on their bodies and on their souls. And they both had the marks of the spell that had been cast when Potter destroyed Voldemort.

They both had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and they both had the skill to achieve some of that knowledge.

Yes, she would do well with him. After all, they were all ready bonded.

_

* * *

Welcome to my breakdown.  
Whoa, You're welcome to my nightmare,  
Yeah, I think you're gonna like it,  
I think you're gonna feel  
That you belong,_

* * *

She was surprised when he stood when she entered and offered her his hand.

He acted as if they had never met before. As if he didn't know exactly who she was.

But he couldn't deny the flare of recognition the infinity sings on the palms of their right hands made when they met.

And even though she couldn't see it, she could feel her entire arm glow for a moment, all of the spider-web tattoos that reached from her hand to her right shoulder. The infinity sign was laced into the complex design, placed in the center of her palm.

She was sure his was the same. Harry and Ron's were.

_

* * *

We sweat, laugh and scream here,  
Cuz life is just a dream here.  
You know inside you feel  
Right at home here,_

* * *

He smiled internally when their hands touched. Their bodies, their souls, recognized each other. Which worked in well with his plans.

He was going to bring her into his world. She had taken the first step into his realm by agreeing to become his apprentice. To lure her in the rest of the way was up to him. It was a challenge he took pleasure in meeting.

In time she would cease to fear him.

In time she would come to understand him.

In time she would come to love him._

* * *

Welcome to my nightmare.  
Welcome to my breakdown. Yeah_

* * *


End file.
